Rover is over! New pet names chosen include Optimus Prime and Sparticus

Published:12:02Friday 19 February 2016

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Dog owners have come up with bizarre names for their pets, research reveals - with a Yorkshire Terrier called I am Sparticus and a Border Collie called Bacardi Breezer.

While human names are becoming more popular for pets, its the weird and wonderful one-offs that raise the biggest laugh, the study says.

Pet insurer Protect Your Bubble looked at 8,500 claims to find that some names will never feature on any popularity lists.

Some of the stranger pet names include two cocker spaniels called Tegan Tiara Nights and Spicey Gwennan and an affectionately-named Italian greyhound called Piccolitas Belissa.

More epic is a moggie dubbed Optimus Prime - after a character from Transformers - and a British cream shorthair called Ptolemy II, in honour of the Egyptian King.

French Bulldogs run the gamut from Bruce Lee to Dolly Apple Darling, and a fashion-forward Japanese Akita goes by the name of Versace.

It certainly proves that the days of Fido and Felix are over.

If you’re looking for something more traditional 20 out of the 30 top pet names actually feature on the top 100 kids’ names list.

Kids’ names Poppy, Alfie, Molly, Charlie and Bella are the top five names selected for our cats and dogs.

Poppy takes the top spot for pets, and is 5th choice for baby girls.

The increasingly trendy Alfie, in 13th place for human boys, extends its reign of popularity to the animal kingdom, where it holds 2nd place for the canine and feline additions to UK families.

The table below shows the 20 most popular names for cats and dogs in England and Wales:

1 Poppy

2 Alfie

3 Molly

4 Charlie

5 Bella

6 Bailey

7 Daisy

8 Oscar

9 Lola

10 Millie

12 Rosie

13 Tilly

14 Ruby

15 Buddy

17 Toby

18 Archie

19 Milo

20 Sam

Stephen Ebbett, global director of Protect Your Bubble, said: “British pet owners are making it easy to imagine a cat and dog takeover, with namesakes ranging from politicians and actors to characters from our favourite books. British music stars are well represented by Ringo the Bichon Frise and Dizzee Rascal the Miniature Pinscher, and twinkle-toed mongrel Billy Elliott Hicks is flying the flag for the UK’s best-loved ballet prodigy.

“There’s a developing trend for culinary cats like moggies Cous Cous and Fajita, and canine enthusiasts must have had refreshments in mind when they named a Labrador Retriever Scrumpy Jack and a Miniature Schnauzer Schnapps. Taking us on a slightly scary trip down memory lane are Druid the Lurcher, Boudica the Tortoiseshell & White Longhair - not quite as regal as a Shih Tzu called Prince William Scrap, but formidable monikers nonetheless.

“Brits have waved goodbye to Fluffy and Cuddles. It’s quite likely that our cats and dogs are obviously enjoying raised statuses as fully-fledged members of the family, sharing names like Lola and Archie with their human siblings.